Pitchfork

Josh Wink's mid-1990s acid-house hit "Higher State of Consciousness" has come back into focus a bit this year with the release of a new Dirty South & TV Rock remix. The UK's affair with the "nu rave" of the Klaxons and others probably hasn't hurt, either. ZZT's "original Munich version" of 2007 single "Lower State of Consciousness" could be heard as a schizophrenic, midtempo rejoinder to Wink's watershed track. ZZT is actually a collaboration between Munich-based DJ Florian Senfte's Zombie Nation and Canadian DJ Tiga, who give the track schizophrenic details you might expect from Japan's Cornelius. Emphasis is liable to shift from video-game bleeps to brawny bass to choir-like oohs with each passing beat.

Did we say "brawny"? You probably know by now what to expect from French duo Justice, the machine-men behind this year's Best New Music-ified †. Their "Lower State of Consciousness" remix rearranges the original's air-raid sirens and fax-machine squeaks, distorts them to head-banging force, and makes sure when the beat hits it feels like a kick to the head. Nor are Justice shy about cutting out the 4x4 stomp or sending the synths to another room for a while to let the track build properly to its frenzied conclusion. Once again, they've taken an interesting studio exercise and converted it into a dancefloor anthem. Do the dance? Don't mind if we do.

[from the "Lower State of Consciousness" 12"; out now on Turbo]